Turnbull Library admits it bought a fake Lindauer | Nine To Noon, 9:05 am on 19 October 2015 | Radio New Zealand

Turnbull Library admits it bought a fake Lindauer

The country’s national heritage collector, the Alexander Turnbull Library bought a fake Lindauer painting, despite being warned by an expert that is was likely to be a forgery.

Portrait of a Maori man named as as Hoani or Hamiora Maioha, and signed G.Lindauer, but revealed to be a fake

Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library

In 2013 the Turnbull Library paid $75,000 at an auction for the portrait of a Maori man named as as Hoani or Hamiora Maioha, and signed G.Lindauer.

Before making the purchase, the library got the advice of colonial art expert Roger Blackley of Victoria University, who told them it was obviously not genuine. “I said it looks incredibly strange and is a fake”.

But the Turnbull curator decided to discount Mr Blackley’s advice, and instead get the views of its in-house experts, who believed it was a genuine Lindauer, and the purchase went ahead.